Psychiatric Service Dog-Oliver
Donation protected
I am a disabled college student who is completely dependent on my friends in order to do basic tasks and take care of myself. I have severe PTSD and Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) among other things due to a long history of abuse. I cannot go in public alone and even with someone near I have frequent anxiety attacks triggered by loud noises, crowds, physcial contact, and "social claustraphobia" among other things. Where I am now I cannot pursue my educational goals nor even get the medical and psychiatric treatment I need due to my disability. Furthermore, I am financially independent and self-supporting relying entirely on social security income and financial aid to pay for living and educational expenses.
My service dog would be trained in boundary control, moving between me and others and giving me more space, getting my attention and alerting me when I begin to have a panic attack by licking my hand to ground me and remind me to focus and take myself away from whatever is causing me to panic, and to put their head and weight on my lap on command to keep me grounded, focused, and calm during classes and appointments.
This service dog would give me independence: I wouldn't rely on my friends to come with me every time I need to go out, I wouldn't have to schedule around them, and I'd be able to pursue my education in earnest.
I am working with a great organization called Doggie Do Good located in Los Angeles. They have been supportive and understanding of both my disability and financial difficulties. If you'd like to donate directly to the organization for me, call them at 877-K9RULES (877-597-8537) and give them my name, Oliver Harvey.
My service dog would be trained in boundary control, moving between me and others and giving me more space, getting my attention and alerting me when I begin to have a panic attack by licking my hand to ground me and remind me to focus and take myself away from whatever is causing me to panic, and to put their head and weight on my lap on command to keep me grounded, focused, and calm during classes and appointments.
This service dog would give me independence: I wouldn't rely on my friends to come with me every time I need to go out, I wouldn't have to schedule around them, and I'd be able to pursue my education in earnest.
I am working with a great organization called Doggie Do Good located in Los Angeles. They have been supportive and understanding of both my disability and financial difficulties. If you'd like to donate directly to the organization for me, call them at 877-K9RULES (877-597-8537) and give them my name, Oliver Harvey.
Update
Some people who've viewed my fundraising efforts are asking questions about the cost of service dogs and service dog training. I will answer some questions here (as I've done a lot of research on the subject), then provide links to sources that will go more in depth about how a dog becomes a service dog, and the cost of training.
Firstly, a dog has to very physically fit to even be considered for service dog training. This means no funky hips, no breathing irregularities, nothing. A potential service dog is screened for their ability to walk with and provide physical support for a disabled individual.
The dog also needs to be capable of being alert towards their handler, calm and focused in public places. Dogs that are easily distracted or cannot be trained to not chase/bark at certain stimuli (stray cats, cars, etc) simply can't be service dogs.
These requirements make service dog selection and training difficult, especially the training. They need to be trained for work that many many dogs are not capable of, and often things that may disqualify them from being a service dog are not discovered until a large amount of training has taken place.
Also, the first step in service dog training is often fostering by volunteers who are trained to teach them basic skills they will need before learning more advanced tasks to help them assist disabled individuals. The advanced training is something that can't be done at home (not without considerable effort, patience, research, time, and training for the person trying to train their dog); it must be done by a professional with experience (especially in my case, what I need is very specific commands and an alert to behavior most people don't even notice). For more information on the process and requirments of a service dog, click here. For information from the organization I am working with cick here.
Some people who've viewed my fundraising efforts are asking questions about the cost of service dogs and service dog training. I will answer some questions here (as I've done a lot of research on the subject), then provide links to sources that will go more in depth about how a dog becomes a service dog, and the cost of training.
Firstly, a dog has to very physically fit to even be considered for service dog training. This means no funky hips, no breathing irregularities, nothing. A potential service dog is screened for their ability to walk with and provide physical support for a disabled individual.
The dog also needs to be capable of being alert towards their handler, calm and focused in public places. Dogs that are easily distracted or cannot be trained to not chase/bark at certain stimuli (stray cats, cars, etc) simply can't be service dogs.
These requirements make service dog selection and training difficult, especially the training. They need to be trained for work that many many dogs are not capable of, and often things that may disqualify them from being a service dog are not discovered until a large amount of training has taken place.
Also, the first step in service dog training is often fostering by volunteers who are trained to teach them basic skills they will need before learning more advanced tasks to help them assist disabled individuals. The advanced training is something that can't be done at home (not without considerable effort, patience, research, time, and training for the person trying to train their dog); it must be done by a professional with experience (especially in my case, what I need is very specific commands and an alert to behavior most people don't even notice). For more information on the process and requirments of a service dog, click here. For information from the organization I am working with cick here.
Organizer
Oliver Dresden Harvey
Organizer
San Diego, CA
